Don Smith's Photoblog
Summer Wildflowers at Point Lobos
Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 30 July 2008 in Landscape & Rural.
Summer wildflowers and Monterey Cypress trees grow in the moist environment of Point Lobos State Reserve along the Monterey Bay, California. This image was an HDR combination of 6 images combined with Photomatix Pro 3.0. I then replaced the sky using a single sky image and a mask in Photoshop CS3. Because of the movement in the clouds between the bracketed exposures, Photomatix could not register them as a convincing match. Finally, I optimized the foreground flowers using Nik Viveza. This image was captured in late afternoon light. A single frame exposed for the highlights would have produced blocked-up shadows. Conversely, a single frame exposed for the shadows would have produced blown-out highlights. HDR allows the image to reproduce as the eye would see it. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Photomatix Pro, please use my promotional code at checkout donsmithphotography to receive 15% off your purchase. To learn more about these and other image optimizing techniques, please visit my website at Don Smith Photography.com and click on the Writings/Articles tab.
To learn more about my workshops, view galleries of my images, purchase my new e-book The Photographer's Guide to the Big Sur Coast or my standard printed book On the Edge, read "how-to" tutorials, and more, please visit my website at www.donsmithphotography.com.
Software Discounts:
Photomatix Pro 3.0 - 15% Photomatix Pro 3.0
type in code at checkout: donsmithphotography
Nik Software - 15% Nik Software
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UPCOMING 2009 WORKSHOPS
Late Summer in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula - August 24-27 (7 spaces remaining)
Arches and Canyonlands National Parks - November 4-8 (6 spaces remaining)
Springtime in Big Sur - March 29 - April 1, 2010 (spaces available)
